Shoemaker paintings and their stories

Artist Stephen Shoemaker and writer Janet Pittard teamed up to present this selection of Shoemaker's paintings and drawings and the stories behind them. Known for his dramatic railroad paintings and scenes of Blue Ridge mountain life, Shoemaker shares the thought processes involved in creating his artwork, reveals his sources of inspiration and points out clues and symbols in his art. Together with 48 images and occasional short poems by Pittard, the storytelling sheds light on an artist's development as well as the unique culture of the mountain region served by the Virginia Creeper train, which ran from Abingdon, Va., to Elkland, N.C. (now Todd), from the early 1900s through the mid-1970s. Shoemaker is from West Jefferson and Pittard lives in both Raleigh and West Jefferson. Softcover, pages 128, $40.